For euro area and non-euro area Member States, the ECB collects data directly from the National Central Banks.

Legal acts and other agreements

Principal legislation — banknotes:

Decision of the European Central Bank on the denominations, specifications, reproduction, exchange and withdrawal of euro banknotes (ECB/2003/4) (2003/205/EC), March 2003

Guideline on the enforcement of measures to counter non-compliant reproductions of euro banknotes and on the exchange and withdrawal of euro banknotes (ECB/2003/5) (2003/206/EC), March 2003

Principal legislation — coins:

Council Regulation (EC) No 975/98 of 3 May 1998 on denominations and technical specifications of euro coins intended for circulation;

Council Regulation (EC) No 2182/2004 of 6 December 2004 concerning medals and tokens similar to euro coins;

Council Regulation (EC) No 2183/2004 of 6 December 2004 extending to the non-participating Member States the application of Regulation (EC) No 2182/2004 concerning medals and tokens similar to euro coins.

Banknotes statistics refer to data on outstanding amounts (stocks) and transactions (flows) of euro banknotes and coins, divided into: issued into circulation, returned from circulation, sorted to check authenticity & fitness and sorted to unfit during the reporting period. The dataset includes also data on collector coins issued net of collector coins returned. Data on the number of NCBs and commercial banks branches which provides cash related services are also included.For non-euro area Member States, banknotes and coins in circulation as well as Collector Coins are provided.The ECB closely monitors the stock and circulation of euro banknotes and coins. It is the Eurosystem’s task to ensure a smooth and efficient supply of euro banknotes and to maintain their integrity. Euro banknotes and coins first came into circulation on 1 January 2002, replacing national currencies. Today, euro banknotes and coins are legal tender in 16 of the 27 Member States of the European Union.For the euro area Member States: banknotes and coins are available in ‘thousands’ of euro or as a pure number (quantities).For non-euro area Member States: banknotes and coins are available in ‘thousands’ of national currency units, for each country.

Reference area coverage

EU 27

Time coverage

For euro area Member States, the ECB publishes data on a monthly basis (around the 12th working day). Data on cash logistics are published at semi-annual frequency. Time series start from January 2002.For non-euro area Member States, the ECB collects banknotes and coins data as part of the “payments statistics” reporting framework. This data collection takes place in Q3 of each year, and publication takes place the same year, in mid-September. Time series start from January 2000.

METHODOLOGICAL INFORMATION

Source data type

For euro area and non-euro area Member States, the ECB collects data directly from the National Central Banks.

Time period

Monthly

Frequency of data collection

Monthly

Valuation

Stock and flow for euro area Member States; stocks only for non-euro area Member States.Stocks data refer to the amount outstanding at the end of the reporting period; flows data refer to the cumulated amount. Both items are denominated in thousands of pieces (for series of quantities) and in thousand of Euro or thousands of national currency units (for series of values).

STATISTICAL PROCESSING

Adjustment

Data are not seasonally adjusted.

DISSEMINATION

Release policy

For euro area Member States, the ECB publishes data on a monthly basis (around the 12th working day). Data on cash logistics are published at semi-annual frequency. Time series start from January 2002.For non-euro area Member States, the ECB collects banknotes and coins data as part of the “payments statistics” reporting framework. This data collection takes place in Q3 of each year, and publication takes place the same year, in mid-September. Time series start from January 2000.